Ford Returning To LeMans?

What does Ford returning to LeMans sound like to you? Since those glorious days in the mid-60s when Hank the Deuce decided to take on Ferrari for the LeMans title, America has been waiting for Ford, Chrysler or GM to step up and reclaim the Worlds Championship crown as Ford did with consecutive 24 hour wins in 1966-‘69. According to our friends over at Racer, we may be on the verge of seeing just that.

It seems if a proposal to campaign a twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost-powered LMP2 program is accepted, work will commence. With the new common chassis slated for the P2 class in 2017, this combined with the timetable a ’17 start would allow, makes that seem the most likely.

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The P2 class is the smaller displacement class, currently filled with Nissan and Honda competitors. The prevailing consensus is that Ford’s current Daytona prototypes could be more easily configured for P2. Ford currently supports Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, and Michael Shank Racing in the TUDOR Championship's Prototype class. The Roush-Yates engines have earned the overall win with Ganassi's No. 01 Riley-Ford at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

With Porsche back at LeMans, and Ferrari rumored to be dropping Formula 1 for LeMans makes this a perfect opportunity for Ford to repeat their successes from almost 50 years ago. After 50 years—it’s time.